"Brittle Things" at the 2013 Minnesota Fringe Festival

I saw Brittle Things, written by Eli-Effinger-Weintraub, last weekend.  I adored this little show, despite not being a fan of romantic comedies in general.  Fellow blogger Matthew Everett reviewed it first for TCDP, so I dropped it down on my priority list, focusing on shows that haven't received coverage.  (You can read his review here.)

A character-driven script that gave the audience a complete story within the Fringe's fifty minute time limit, "Brittle Things" is a romantic comedy with enough surprises to keep the audience engaged.  The dialogue is snappy but never smug.   Amelia Mohn plays Ronnie, a former child star who shattered into pieces when her career tanked after she came out.  She won't leave her apartment, and her sister/agent hires Alison (Danielle Krivinchuk) to trick Ronnie into returning to acting.  It's complicated.  But when Ronnie (Amelia Mohn),  meets Alison (Danielle Krivinchuk), sparks fly.  The actors have great chemistry.

There are awkward set changes and pauses that are very distracting, and an annoying "tick tock" sound cue that repeats between scenes.   But otherwise, this is a sweet show.  Today is the last chance to see it.

"RT+MPLS : The Legend of RT Rybak" at the 2013 Minnesota Fringe Festival

RT+MPLS : The Legend of RT Rybak , playing at the New Century, is an affectionate romp through the Rybak years.  In the style of a romantic comedy, RT falls in love with Minneapolis, personified as a young tattooed woman (Anna Weggel).  Wearing the best costume in the fringe (a lake blue party dress with a skirt that lights up and an adorable fascinator with a spoon and cherry on top), Weggel plays hard-to-get with spunk and sass.  The entire show is unabashedly corny and sweet.  Creator Heather Meyer (who also plays Minneapolis' over-bearing mother Minnesota and attention-starved sibling Duluth) packs the script with Minnesota puns and local references.  Mayor Rybak himself was in the audience, proving himself a good sport.

All of the proceeds from this show go to the STEP-UP Achieve Jobs program, which places up to 800 Minneapolis students into paid internships.  A very Minnesotan gesture, indeed.

"Bidgood to BidGREAT!" at the 2013 Minnesota Fringe Festival

As the 2013 Minnesota Fringe Festival slides into the home stretch, here are some suggestions:

Laura Bidgood, Rockstar Storyteller and follicly blessed half of the ultra-nerd comedy duo Curt and Laura strikes out on her own in the solo show Bidgood to BidGREAT!: Bumps and Blunders on the Boulevard to Brilliance .  Self-deprecating and insightful, Bidgood finds the humor in the everyday.  Her story about the driveway smackdown she and her twin sister had with the snottiest girl in the neighborhood is hysterical.  And her tale about how she went curling and lived to tell about it was a funny and moving. 
One more thing about story-telling shows for the uninitiated: using a music stand with notes on it is not cheating!  It depends on the show.  Think of it like jazz -even the most accomplished players rely on a chart to make sure they hit the right chords.  I overheard (okay, eavesdropped) on a person after the show saying (I'm paraphrasing) "I couldn't stop laughing....it's too bad she used a music stand".  If you are a storyteller, please feel free to add a comment below about the use of notes in a performance. 

"Dear Madde" at the 2013 Minnesota Fringe Festival

Dear Madde,

I went to this one woman comedy at the Minnesota Fringe Festival called Dear Madde.  It stars this really talented lady named Madde Gibba.  She tells stories, answers the audiences' questions and sings with a strong sexy voice.  She even improvises witty songs. The whole audience clearly had a mad crush on Madde.
But there are only two shows left-one on Saturday and one on Sunday.  How can this be?  Is there anything else I can tell the readers of tcdailyplanet.net to come to see "Dear Madde"?

Sincerely,

Good to Momma

"Died in a Trailer Park Woke Up a Mermaid" at the 2013 Minnesota Fringe Festival

"It's too late!  The Fringe is almost over!"  Nonsense.  There are TWENTY-ONE juicy time slots left in the next four days.  With two performances remaining, Ariel Leaf's Died in a Trailer Park Woke Up a Mermaid should have one of those slots.  Leaf is a warm and engaging storyteller, sharing six autobiographical stories of how Anne (her given name) became Ariel.  The arc of the show tells a redemptive tale of surviving the worst.  As a child, Leaf traveled to Africa and lived in Communist Yugoslavia.  As a teen, she lived through harrowing, horrifying experiences that no child should suffer.  She tells then tells the humorous tale of how at 19 she gets lost in Wales on her way to Ireland.  After finding her way, the audience is relieved that this resilient young woman has made it safely not only to her destination but to adulthood as well. 

"Jesus Christ Ex Machina" at the 2013 Minnesota Fringe Festival:Engrossing but Confusing

We saw Jesus Christ Ex Machina on opening night at the Red Eye Theatre.  An extremely late addition to the Fringe Festival, the show did not have the audience it deserved.  But creator and performer Joshua Larson did not let that keep him from taking his audience through an engrossing albeit confusing journey through the Labyrinth with a cast of characters from Greek Mythology and the Bible.   The show is probably not everyone's cup of tea-not because of the Christian content but because of its unrelenting intensity.  He states his thesis clearly in the program:  Jesus Christ is the "Deus Ex Machina" for the world.  But Larson plays so many different personas that the idea gets lost.  There are too many accents to follow.  Plus, there is an underlying assumption that the audience knows these stories.  I was only sure the main character was indeed Theseus because of the program notes.

The strength of the show is the music.  Larson is a very talented singer/actor and songwriter.  His singing voice is strong and flexible.  He sings with conviction.  There is some bluegrass,  R&B, country and a little bit of rock and roll.   I enjoyed the show for its "fringiness"-a very talented performer with a big idea taking a risk. 

"Stardust" at the 2013 Minnesota Fringe Festival:

Stardust clocks in at a brief 26 minutes or so.  But writer/director Kimberly Rolfs, who just graduated from high school(!), gives the audience a heartbreaking fictional meditation on suicide and the devastation it leaves behind.  The three person cast, led by the luminous Chrissy Saul as the dead girl, doesn't shy away from the raw emotion of the script.   A highly recommended show by teens for teens.